


Unplayed Piano

by neaf



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: Episode Related, Fluff, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-10
Updated: 2013-04-10
Packaged: 2017-12-08 02:03:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/755696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neaf/pseuds/neaf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris wishes he'd learned how to play the piano. Darren plays it for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unplayed Piano

**Author's Note:**

> Set during the filming of Night of Neglect.
> 
> The arrangement of _Unforgettable_ that Darren plays for Chris here is taken from Megan Mullaly  & Sean Hayes performance in the finale of Will & Grace.

“CUT!”  
  
In the wash of frantic movement, the shifting of props and chairs and people, Chris had found himself shuffling sideways between crewmembers, skip-stepping and generally feeling like a white collar thief in a laser maze as he maneuvered out of everybody’s way. He laughed an apology as he managed to avoid a head-on collision with a grip before ducking down a side corridor and wandering into the huge, open air set of the McKinley auditorium.  
  
Chris loved this place. The way the bright red walls lit up in shades of orange and yellow under sconce spotlights, the absurdly comfortable audience chairs, the reflection of the huge stage globes in the polished floor, like an airport runway – he loved all of it. And now, he was back.   
  
He climbed the stairs silently, hugging his grey jacket tighter around himself to ward off the familiar chill of the set. His coverage was done, at least for now, which meant that he had a few hours to himself, to just _breathe_ , and soak in the familiar surroundings.  
  
The tiny squeaks of his shoes as he crossed the stage rang out like an old familiar tune, and his smile widened as he wandered to the big black piano still set up side-stage. Sliding down onto the stool, he waved his open palms over the glossy white keys, splaying his long fingers. He’d never learned to play piano. It was one of those strange regrets that he’d never told anyone about, just left tucked in the back of his mind.  
  
Footsteps pulled him from his reverie, and he glanced up.  
  
“Don’t let me interrupt,” Darren waved a hand, smiling.   
  
Chris lifted an eyebrow, leaning back on his hands. “Nothing to interrupt, sadly. Unless you want to hear my heart-stopping rendition of _Chopsticks_.”  
  
Chuckling, Darren leaned against the piano gently and folded his arms over his bulky olive-green coat. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he insisted. After a pause, he narrowed his eyes. “You okay? You got out of there pretty fast.”  
  
“Staying out of the way. Besides,” Chris cast his gaze up and around the high ceilings. “I wanted to just … be here, again. I’ve missed it.”  
  
“Ah,” Darren nodded, understanding. “Homesick. I get it.”  
  
Chris shrugged, a little embarrassed. They’d spent the day filming a sort of McKinley tour, Kurt dragging Blaine around his old school, that kind of thing. It’d been so strange – a warped mirror of real life, like he was giving Darren the grand tour of each of the sets.   
  
Still, Darren was right. It felt good to be home.  
  
“I used to come in here sometimes, when we first started filming,” Chris confessed, tilting a shoulder forward with a sly smile. “Sit at the piano, imagine I was playing for some grand audience.”  
  
“You should learn how to play, man,” Darren said encouragingly, sliding onto the piano stool beside him. “You have the perfect hands for it. Piano fingers.”  
  
Chris stared at him for a moment, amused, as he played a few high notes experimentally. “Piano fingers?”  
  
Darren nodded without looking up.  
  
After a moment, Chris shifted back on the seat a little, resting his hands on his knees and looking around. “You know, I got so excited about coming back here, I didn’t even think about how strange it’s going to be. It feels a bit like I lose, either way.”  
  
“How so?” Darren asked, his brow furrowing.  
  
“I stay there, I miss these guys. I come here, and I’m leaving it behind – probably for good. Feels like either way, I miss somebody.”  
  
Darren smiled, still looking down. “Somebody?”  
  
“The guys,” Chris clarified after a beat. “The Warblers, I mean.”  
  
“Ah,” Darren said with mock gravitas, smiling softly, like he knew something. “Of course.”  
  
Chris watched him for a moment, pressing his lips together in a thin line. Darren didn’t look up, instead playing a light melody on the piano.  
  
“Well, I can say without a doubt they’ll miss you, too,” he finally said, and glanced up with a sneaky expression.  
  
“Will they?” Chris asked mockingly, amused.  
  
Darren nudged him gently, brushing their arms and hips together with the motion. “Oh, _definitely_.”  
  
The tune he was playing changed, grew slower, and he looked up with a gentle, adoring smile. “ _Un-for-gettable,_ ” he sang softly, emphasizing each syllable. “ _That’s what you are._ ”  
  
Blushing, Chris rolled his eyes.  
  
“ _Unforgettable, though near or far,_ ” he played a trilling, light sequence of notes up the piano, elbow brushing lightly against Chris’s chest.   
  
Chris felt the warmth of Darren’s leg press against his thigh, and shivered slightly.   
  
“ _Like a song of love that clings to me, how the thought of you,_ ” Darren lifted his shoulders, closing his eyes as he trembled deliberately, “ _does **things** to me._ ”  
  
Chris bit his lip as he watched, unblinking.  
  
“ _Never before_ ,” Darren sang slowly, fixing Chris with an intense, sultry gaze, “ _has someone been more_.”  
  
“ _Unforgettable_ ,” Chris chimed in, eyes drifting to the ceiling, “ _in every way, and forevermore, that’s how you’ll stay_.”  
  
Darren watched him, smiling gently as they sang together.   
  
“ _That’s why darling, it’s incredible,  
That someone so_…”  
  
They locked eyes for a moment, and Darren felt his heart slow to a crawl.  
  
“ _Unforgettable,  
Thinks that I am,  
Unforgettable, too._”   
  
Darren plunked at the last few notes with a deliberate flourish, and turned to Chris with a grin.  
  
“You play beautifully,” Chris said breathily, almost too quiet to hear. “But I knew that.”  
  
Darren smiled, rubbing at his cheeks. “Man, I haven’t played that in _years_.”  
  
Chris inclined his head, watching Darren’s profile for a moment.   
  
There was a pause before Darren looked up coyly, then rocked towards him, slipping an arm around his waist and resting a head on his shoulder.   
  
Chris closed his eyes and let his mouth curl into a tiny smile at the edges, feeling the warmth rush over him like a blanket, like something so familiar. Just like coming home.   
  
“It’s not all gonna change,” Darren asked tentatively, “Is it?”  
  
With a gentle sigh, Chris rested his cheek on Darren’s forehead, glancing out over the empty seats of the auditorium.  
  
“No,” he said. “Not all of it, not right away. I don’t know much, but I know they won’t just pretend that everything’s the way it was and forget about Dalton.”  
  
Darren nodded slightly, but Chris could feel the tiny tremble in him still.  
  
“I can tell you a secret, though, the only thing I do know,” Chris said teasingly.  
  
He felt Darren move a little against him, maybe trying to get closer, and Chris draped an arm around him gently.   
  
“What’s that?”  
  
Chris squeezed his shoulders affectionately. “I get to keep you,” he whispered.  
  
He couldn’t see Darren’s face, but he knew that he was smiling.


End file.
